DR1 Travel News - 11 April 2017

15,000 expected for Justin Bieber concert at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana
Flavors of the World at Casa de Campo in La Romana
57,708 whale-watchers have visited Samaná’s marine sanctuary in 2017
Bonche Las Terrenas, 14-15 April in Samaná for Easter
First show at the Puerto Plata Amphitheater

15,000 expected for Justin Bieber concert at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana
Youth idol Justin Bieber will be performing at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana this Saturday, 15 April 2017. This is his second performance in the Dominican Republic. He is on his Purpose World Tour. He will be singing his hits: “What Do You Mean,” “Sorry,” and “Love Yourself.”

Tickets are for sale online at Ticket Express and Tu Boleta and at Tiendas La Sirena, Supermercados Pola. Tickets are RD$2,800 general admission, VIP tickets range from RD$8,000, RD$10,000, RD$12,000, RD$16,000 and RD$22,000.

The tour is also taking him to Mexico City, Lima, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile and Bogotá.

Flavors of the World at Casa de Campo in La Romana
Casa de Campo is celebrating Flavors of the World from 13-16 April 2017. The stars of the Easter Week event are Colombian chefs, Leonor (Leo) Espinosa and Mark Rausch.

Espinosa is best known for her award-winning Leo Cocina y Cava Restaurant in Bogotá, and for her modern Colombian cuisine, a fusion of modern and traditional cooking. Espinosa is a regular on Colombian TV. Rausch is the pastry chef at Criterión, Bistronomy By Rausch and R Energía Gastronómica.

The weekend’s events include:
• An inaugural “flying” dinner of passed tapas on Thursday, 13 April at Playa Minitas, with Chef Espinosa providing the savory dishes and Chef Rausch providing the sweet dishes. US$99 per person.
• A collaborative six-course fine-dining wine pairing dinner at La Piazzetta with the chefs Espinosa and Rausch joining Chef Masas on Friday, 14 April. US$125 per person.
• A casual Sunday brunch by Chef Rausch on Sunday, 16 April. A la carte.
Please call Concierge to book your place at these events: 809-523-3165, 3166.

The Flavors of the World festival coincides with the presentation of Jennifer Lopez at Altos de Chavon the evening of Saturday, 15 April.

57,708 whale-watchers have visited Samaná’s marine sanctuary in 2017
The Ministry of Environment reports that 57,708 visitors, including 49,670 foreigners and 8,038 Dominicans took boat trips to watch whales in the Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Samaná province. This was 2,724 more persons than in 2016.

The trips were taken from 15 January to 30 March 2017 to the Marine Mammal Sanctuary that encompasses the Banco de la Plata (Silver Bank) and Banco de la Navidad and the Samaná Bay, an area stretching 20,500 square kilometers making it the largest protected area in the country.

First show at the Puerto Plata Amphitheater
Fernando Villalona, Sergio Vargas, Johnny Ventura, Wilfrido Vargas (merengue), Vakeró (urban music), Elvis Martínez (bachata) and Chiquito Team Band (salsa) will make history on Saturday, 15 April 2017 as the first performers at the newly completed Puerto Plata Amphitheater. The inaugural show “Puerto Plata es alegría,” begins at 7pm. Admission is by invitation, starting at 6pm.

The new amphitheater was built facing the Atlantic Ocean over the hill leading to the San Felipe Fort and the Puerto Plata lighthouse, both city cultural monuments. This will be the first time the acoustic stage built by the Dutch companies Expo Engineering / Eurotruss will be used. It is the largest of its kind in use in Latin America.
The event is produced Emporio Luis Medrano with sponsorship by the Presidency of the Republic and the Ministry of Tourism, city government of Puerto Plata and private sponsor companies.

The amphitheater was funded by the CEIZTUR fund of the Ministry of Tourism. It is part of the Parque Urbano de la Puntilla, an area of 1,877.69 square meters with a stage of 315 square meters and capacity for more than 4,000 persons.